Considering the consistent brutality of Vader’s output since its ‘92 debut LP, it’s amusing to account for the Polish death metallers’ beginning in speed and thrash metal. The band’s evolution through the ‘80s reflects a global awakening to the death metal underground. In hand with the gumption of founding member and frontman Piotr Wiwczarek, quality songwriting has kept the flame alive. Vader makes no apologies for what it is on its 12th album, delivering 30 minutes of great death metal. A solid balance of classic riffing and new-school precision keeps Solitude In Madness in the fight.

An almost surgical aesthetic takes hold right at the start of “Shock And Awe.” A blistering tremolo riff from Wiwczarek, a blast beat from James Stewart, and Vader’s off to the races with death metal obliteration. It’s no frills. It’s unrelenting. It’s just maniacal laughter after the sadistic laceration. “Into Oblivion” continues in this vein, recalling a simpler time when most death metal sounded like thrash on steroids.

Wiwczarek’s voice has a lot more intelligibility than the typical guttural vocalist, not to mention the chaotic, Slayer-inspired guitar solos. The duelling guitar solos and chugging guitars of “Emptiness” certainly recall death metal’s predecessor. Regardless, Vader’s modus operandi remains aggression, intensity and evil.

Solitude In Madness isn’t just an effort of blinding speed. The flanged double-bass fill that begins “Incineration Of The Gods” leads to a chunky mid-tempo riff. Wiwczarek and Marek “Spider” Pająk are just as fond of locking into stomping grooves with Stewart as they are of hyper-speed evisceration. Even with only one founding member, this iteration of Vader uses a decade of experience to pull off some gratifying excursions like “Sanctification Denied.” The song’s triplet-based riffing and nearly major-key arpeggios play the perfect foil for an eerie solo section.

From nuanced syncopation to bulletproof riff changes, Vader always circles back to unfiltered violence. “Despair” and “Stigma Of Divinity” don’t even crack the one-minute mark, which is an advantage to the relatively derivative ideas the band uses. Vader doesn’t milk its ideas, preferring to cram them down your throat and then punch you in the gut. This isn’t to say the riffs and beats aren’t compelling, just that Vader was wise to trim the fat and avoid wearing out its welcome.

With the old-school death metal resurgence in effect, it’s both the best and worst of times for the old guard. A slapper like “And Satan Wept” now has to contend with a creative stagnation of the original death metal movement, along with the new wave of young bands essentially doing the same thing. Success comes from hitting hard and accurately. “Final Declaration” doesn’t succeed by being different. Its tasteful tremolo harmonies and seamless midsection beat switch remain both savage and thoughtful.

With a bone-crunching, headbanging beat rolling into machine-gun double-bass, closer “Bones” brings all the viscera death metal’s legacy has become. This batch of Vader songs, while relatively simple, comes from a place of vicious fervency. The band found death metal, incubated death metal and continues pervading its sonic massacre with this album. Solitude In Madness is more than a relic from a bygone age and is a lethal dose of extreme metal from one of Poland’s finest.

Follow editor Max Heilman at Twitter.com/madmaxx1995 and Instagram.com/maxlikessound.